Orléans to Saumur

Introduction
Loire
France
The Loire Valley, also known as “garden of France”, is a charming land of vineyards, flowers and rolling green hills, which will enchant you with its more than two hundred castles and luxuriant natural landscapes. It will be like riding in a fairy tale, in a picturesque countryside dotted with romantic châteaux, providing regular interludes to the cycling. While you marvel at this medieval splendor, don’t forget to try the region’s sumptuous cuisine and famous wines, for a true royal holiday experience!

Accomodation

Accommodations
We personally choose all the hotels mindful of your comfort as well as the proximity to cycling paths and any relevant local sites. The hotels of this tour are mainly 3* hotels, with some 2* hotels

All rooms have en suite facilities. In some 2* hotels there may be some cases of accommodation without air conditioning.

When you book the tour please specify the type of room requested:
•double room is a room with one double bed
•twin room is a room with two single beds
•triple room is usually a room with one double bed and a single bed or a rollaway.

Meals
Breakfast: in hotels, international breakfast with a varied buffet is usually served.
Lunch: it is never included. You may find some indications for the lunch break in your roadbook.
Dinner: every day you reach a new town where you have plenty of possibilities to find a suitable dinner option. You may ask the hotel reception for some advice.

If you have booked half-board: half board service includes 6 (or 4 for the shorter trip) dinners and beverages are not included and have to be paid on the spot. The dinner in Tours is never included.
Upon arrival in the hotel please inform the reception that you have booked half-board, so that they can tell you where the restaurant is located.

Diets and Allergies
If you are vegetarian, gluten-intolerant, allergic to some specific ingredients/substances or if you suffer from any other kind of allergies please indicate it at the moment of booking. We will pass the information to the hotels, but we cannot guarantee that all dietary requests will be met. Sometimes it is difficult to find particular food, for example gluten-free food, so we suggest you to bring some own snacks as a small supply.

On this tour you cycle through the wonderful Loire Valley. This cycle trip is not very demanding, though sometimes there are some hilly sections. The daily stages are not very long – always about 50 kms – mostly in the lowlands. The itinerary is mainly on cycle paths or paved roads with a low volume of traffic.

This route has been rated easy to moderate: some days flat, others with some hills. Suitable for everyone with some cycling experience and a few physical condition.

Local law
In France the wearing of bicycle helmets is not compulsory for adults, but for your own safety we recommend you to wear it. The helmet is mandatory for children under 12 years, both if cycling or just passenger.
Cyclists have to wear a reflective vest when cycling out of the towns within 30 mins after sunset to 30 mins before sunrise as well as in tunnels.

Bikes
Girolibero’s City bikes are available in various sizes in unisex/women’s or men’s models. At the moment of booking, you can choose from the following bikes:
•City bike 27-gear Shimano Deore
•City bike 7-gear Shimano Nexus with back-pedal brake
•Electro-bike

At the moment of booking you can also rent helmets suitable for head circumferences from 54 to 61. All our helmets have a certification mark according to the DIN EN 1078 (CE) European norm.

Own bike
If you want to do the tour with your own bike, before you depart we suggest to check that all parts of the bike are functioning properly. A cycle computer is necessary to follow the road book. We also highly recommend you to bring a repair kit because the emergency number in case of breakdown cannot be used if you are using your own bike. Don’t forget to bring a padlock and always lock your bike.

The Information Pack (one per room) includes:•final hotel list: due to overbooking or organizational needs your hotel list may be changed just before your arrival
•luggage labels to be fixed at each piece of baggage, which has to be carried
•hotel vouchers to be given to the reception of each hotel on your arrival
•restaurant vouchers (if you have booked half-board)
•information on the cities, towns and villages of the tour
•Girolibero Greens booklets:
1) Detailed Maps of the itinerary: in colour and scaled 1:75.000/50.000, an altitude profile chart and maps of any historic city centres you would visit.
2) Roadbook describing the cycling route, stage by stage. Great on its own or in conjunction with the maps.

Itinerary

Sample Itinerary- Subject to changes

Day 1: Orléans
Individual arrival in Orléans, homeland of Joan of Arc.

Day 2: Orléans – Beaugency/St. Dyé (30/50 km, elevation gain 40/80m)You pedal along the Loire alternating cycle paths with back roads. After a visit to the Cathedral of Clery St. André you arrive at the Chateau Dunois with the beautiful medieval center of Beaugency. A land full of water and culture will lead the way to the beautiful town of St. Dyé, an ancient river harbour.
Today’s ride will follow the shores of the Loire and after having traversed the beautiful city of Orléans you will continue along lovely cycle paths in the countryside and through small villages. The variety and the low traffic roads make it a very nice and easy trip with a lot of possibilities to enjoy your breaks.

Day 3: Beaugency/St. Dyé – Blois (50/30 km, elevation gain 180/140m)
From the huge park surrounding Chambord Castle today’s trip continues at the border of the forest of Boulogne. On the other side of the Loire crowded with a wonderful bridge, you can already see the profile of Blois and its castle, the steeples of the abbey and the Cathedral of St. Louis standing out.
It is an exciting and very beautiful ride, with as only difficulty the unpaved roads, which however allow you to enjoy fully the peace and quiet and no traffic at all.

Day 4: Blois – Amboise (45 km, elevation gain 260m)
After the visit of the city of Blois and its impressive castle, you pedal along the Loire river. Here you can visit the castle of Chaumont built on the top of a hill overlooking the river. In Amboise you cannot miss the house where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last years of his life.
The first part of the stage rides along the left side of the Loire. In the second part we leave the river towards some short climb in Chailles, Mosnes and near Amboise.

Day 5: Amboise – Tours (55 km, elevation gain 290m) After crossing forest of Amboise you arrive in Chenonceaux, known as the castle of the three ladies. You continue along the river Cher up to the city of Tours. You may also decide to stop for a visit at the castle of Nitray with its famous wine cellars.
It is a most beautiful itinerary, varied and with as only difficulty the exit from the city of Amboise as far as the fork towards Chenonceaux: a straight stretch in the middle of the woods where cars speed up. In the morning some slopes are uphill to reach Chenonceaux, but afterwards you will have a flat ride. There is not a lot of traffic because you will be cycling along the Cher almost all the time on dirt roads. Only near Veretz you will finally find asphalted
roads and have to face the last slope uphill of the day (500m long).

Day 6: Tours – Chinon (60 km, elevation gain 280m) **Leave after breakfast for the 6-day tour.Pedalling between the Loire and the Cher rivers you arrive at Villandry Castle, well known for its gardens. Following the Loire river, you’ll reach the city Langeais where you can stop for a break. Before arriving in Chinon you will visit Ussé, where you can admire the castle of the Sleeping Beauty.
You continue cycling along the Loire - a more difficult stretch on a cobbled road for 500m - near the city of Langeais. In Château de Ussè you will face the only slopes of the day.

Day 7: Chinon – Saumur (35 km, elevation gain 190m)
The tour continues along country roads beyond the confluence of the rivers Loire and Vienne, where you’ll get to Savigny en Vèron and the wonderful village of Candes St-Martin. A few Kilometres away you’ll see the castle of Montsoreau from which you can enjoy the landscape over the Fontevraud Abbey. At the end of the stage you will visit Saumur, considered the “Pearl of Anjou”.
The first part of the cycle tour is on level roads and easy, always on quiet cycle tracks or small country roads. Past Candes St.Martin it becomes harder: several slopes, some of them very steep, alternated with level roads.

Day 8: SaumurDeparture after breakfast.

Due to organizational reasons, weather conditions or provisions issued by local authorities, the itinerary may be subject to some changes before and/or during the holiday.
Along the way you may find temporary deviations (for example road works) which cannot be foreseen; in this case each rider can decide autonomously how to deal with these stretches.

How to shorten the stages:
There is a good train service offering bicycle transport. This low cost option will allow you to reach the next city in the case of rain or bad weather, or if you prefer to visit a city at your own pace instead of cycling. Trains with bicycle compartments are all regional trains and are indicated with a bicycle symbol on the carriage and also on the timetables on display in the station. For further information on timetables and prices you can consult www.sncf.com.

All the towns of the tour are connected with the train.
If one day you don’t want to cycle, you can skip the stage by taking the train.
Please note that not every stage is served by a direct train connection. It could sometimes be necessary to make a train change.

If you want to shorten the itinerary by taking the train, you can do it every day except on day 7.

Day 2: Orléans - Beaugency / St. Dyé
For the clients who overnight in Beaugency, it is possible only to skip the entire stage by taking the train from Orléans to Beaugency. For the clients who overnight in St. Dyé, it is possible to shorten the stage from Orléans to Beaugency or to Mer.

Day 3: Beaugency / St. Dyé - Blois
For the clients who overnight in Beaugency, it is possible to shorten the stage from Beaugency to Mer. For the clients who overnight in St. Dyé, it is possible only to skip the stage by taking the train in Mer.

Day 4: Blois - Amboise
It is possible to shorten the stage from Blois to Onzain or from Onzain to Amboise.

Day 5: Amboise - Tours
It is possible to shorten the stage from Chenonceaux to Tours.

Day 6: Tours - Chinon
It is possible to shorten the stage from Tours to Langeais. If you make the variation to the castle of Azay Le Rideau, it is possible to shorten the stage from Tours to Azay Le Rideau or from Azay Le Rideau to Chinon.

Dates Note:
Custom departure dates can be arranged for groups of 5 pax or more

Rates do not include:

Everything not mentioned in the section "included"

Other InfoMeeting: OrléansAirport: Tours Val de LoireTransfer: --

Climate:
Tours area

Month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Average High Temperature (°F)

45

48

55

60

67

74

78

78

72

62

52

47

Average Low Temperature (°F)

35

35

39

41

48

53

57

56

52

47

40

36

Average High Temperature (°C)

7

9

13

16

19

23

26

26

22

17

11

8

Average Low Temperature (°C)

2

2

4

5

9

12

14

13

11

8

4

2

Average Precipitation (days of rain)

10

9

9

8

9

6

6

5

6

8

9

10

Source: NOAA

Seasons
The Loire region benefits from a mild climate created by mild breezes blowing in from the Atlantic. The Loire is often the line of demarcation in France's weather, between the Northern climate and the Southern.

You can expect frequent showers in the spring months, whereas the summer brings humid heat. The balmy autumn season produces brilliant red and gold foliage, and lively festivals take place in many towns and villages to celebrate the grape harvest. Winter is chilly and rainfall is more frequent.

The climate in the region is influenced by an oceanic component and by the distance from the ocean, such as by an occasional continental influence. In the eastern part of the region, the winter is cold without excesses and the summer is warm and bearable. In the western part, winter and summer milder.

What To Bring:Luggage transportation
Luggage transportation is never included in case of extra nights before or after the standard tour.
We do not guarantee luggage transportation if:
- Labels are not attached to the bags
- luggage is deposited late at reception (dropped off after 9:00 a.m.)
- luggage exceeds the weight allowance.
In the above mentioned cases a special transportation service can be organized which will have to be paid in cash by you on the spot.

Timetable
- 9:00 a.m.: you have to deliver your luggage to the hotel reception every morning by 9:00.am., grouped according to the receptionist’s instructions
- 5:30 p.m.: we deliver your luggage to the next hotel by 5:30 pm. If you think you will arrive early at the hotel because the stage is rather short or you prefer to cycle in the morning and visit the city in the afternoon, please bring a change of clothes with you.

Forbidden goods
It is strictly forbidden to put the following items inside the luggage to be transported:
- medicines and lifesaver devices
- glass bottles and liquids in general
- fragile objects
We will not be held responsible for damages caused by non-compliance with these rules.

Luggage allowance
For the luggage transportation we accept only 2 pieces of luggage per person: a suitcase and a hand luggage. The max. weight of the suitcase is 20 kg, while the weight of the hand luggage can be of 10 kg max.
At the first hotel you will receive 2 labels per person which have to be attached to each piece of luggage. You should put 1 label on each piece of luggage. If you have only 1 piece of luggage, write 1 on the label; if you have 2 pieces of luggage, write 2 on both labels.
You cannot change the number of pieces of luggage during the tour.

The following recommended clothes are advisable:
- padded cycling shorts
- comfortable shoes with stiff soles
- light weight waterproof/windproof top
- leggings and long sleeved tops for cooler mornings or evenings
- small close-fitting daysack to carry certain items during the day while cycling
- swimsuit

We recommend to keep always with you (and not to forget in the transported luggage):
- passport/identity card
- hotel vouchers
- any medicines you could need during the day
- personal belongings (for example car keys).

During the tour you will have the chance to visit various religious institutions, such as churches and convents, where you must be appropriately dressed (covered shoulders, shoes or sandals, etc...).